Her Eyes
by Cryssy rock penguin
Summary: Rock Lee thinks everything is going bad when his angel Sakura marries Naruto. He comes across a girl in the forest who he takes back to his house to stay until she gets better. Slight NaruSaku, but it doesnt really affect the story or anything.
1. Chapter One

-1_Ding_…._Ding…..Ding…._

Each chime of the church bell was a pang in the young boy's heart. He was sporting an emerald green tuxedo, not the most stylish of choices but it was his trademark and he liked it.

The church outside the Leaf Village Ninja Academy was decorated beautifully with white and pink. Cherry blossom petals flew from the nearby tree, scattering themselves over the scene; a coincidental yet marvelous touch. Throughout the scene set up for this occasion, there was a bit misplaced bit around the front of the minister's podium.

"Naruto just HAD to add orange and blue decorations to the front of the chapel!! That idiotic twit, it doesn't match ANYTHING!" Ino shouted furiously, she had been in charge of organizing the entire wedding and was about to blow a fuse.

Sakura looked at Ino through her reflection in the mirror. While adjusting the bow on her sleeve she smiled back at her childhood friend.

"You know how Naruto is…I do think it personalizes it a bit though, I mean you can't expect Naruto to be completely peachy with a pink and white wedding." she said, looking over her reflection.

The pale blush of the dress was just enough to compliment Sakura's hair and leave a bridal air to it. Billowing down to past her ankles the gown showed every one of Sakura's curves, a magenta ribbon around her waist accented it just enough to finish it off.

Turning carefully as to not rip the long white veil where he headband usually was she looked at Ino.

"Ino, you have to calm down. It's the day of the wedding, and everything looks beautiful. You did a glorious job and you still need to fix your hair." With this statement Ino screamed and ran out of the room. Sakura chuckled and looked out the window at her future husband.

Naruto Uzamaki was wearing a bright orange tuxedo with blue accents and tie. He was waiting almost nervously having what looked like a nice, friendly conversation with Sasuke.

"What did you call me out here for, Sasuke?" Naruto looked at his long time rival and comrade with a questioning gaze. Sasuke looked down at his shoes, he seemed to be debating something. "Well, spit it out already!"

Sasuke looked up at Naruto and pulled a half-smile.

"I just wanted to give you two my blessings…Sakura's a really great girl and I think you'll do her real good…just…don't screw this up." Sasuke said. Naruto stared at him.

"What's with this sudden burst of caring, Sasuke? I mean really, you sound like a sap." Naruto said. Sasuke frowned, but then switched it over to a smirk.

"Loser.." he said, hitting him on the head and walking off. Naruto rubbed his head, half angry, half confused.

_Ding….Ding…..Ding…._

Another twinge of brutal pain and regret as the church bells rang. Looking to his left to his pale-eyed team mate then returning to his gaze at the ground, the green-clad ninja tried to analyze the thoughts whirling through his head.

Those pale eyes did not return his gaze, but stared out into the forest around them. Everything seemed jolly, calm, peaceful…but maybe too peaceful.

Neji stayed alert but didn't make a move, of course he had no lead and it would be foolish to react now, but he was also decently concerned with the ceremony about to begin, he glanced to the other side of the chapel to an identical set of pale eyes set on a red face. Hinata Hyuuga was staring down at her hands, fidgeting with the zipper of her jacket. Neji watched as his relative shed a small tear as it landed on her leg.

Tears…emotion…signs of weakness…poor, poor Hinata, he thought. Such a feeble excuse of a shinobi she was. A glint of light attracted Neji's attention but he relaxed seeing it was just Shino's sunglasses shining as he looked down at Hinata, then returned his glance to the end of the long aisle way.

The ceremony was about to begin.

_Ding….Ding…Ding…._

Rock Lee looked up at last when the final church bells sang out into the silence around them. The three bridesmaids; Ino, Temari and Lee's own teammate, Tenten were all wearing identical simple pink dresses similar to Sakura's. They all were looking at the end of the aisle as the minister walked in.

"I didn't know Iruka-sensei had a minister license..." Hinata said quietly. The long time teacher of the ninja academy took his place at the minister's podium and piano music began to play. Naruto had looked pretty bored up until now, his eyes had now lit up and he (along with the rest of the chapel) was looking back at the chapel entrance. Standing at the door was Kakashi-sensei linked arm in arm with the bride-to-be.

He had always wondered why people cried at weddings. Lee had been to a few in the past, he understood that it was a very happy occasion and it was okay to cry, but he didn't exactly know why. At this point though, he knew he could not cry. He wanted to, oh so badly…but he would not let himself.

Sakura's hair was fixed all around her face, moving slightly in the wind almost naturally. As Kakashi led her up the isle she cast an almost whimsical look at Lee, who's heart leapt with a twang of sadness and happiness. The most he could manage was to give her a feeble 'nice guy pose' with a half smile. Sakura didn't seem to notice his uneasiness and flashed him one of her famous smiles, continuing the walk to her groom.

A loud rustling sounded from the forest around them. It sounded rather distant, but Lee knew he could hear movement. His eyes darted to Neji's who seemed to be the only other person who noticed. Lee took this as an excuse to get away from this heartbreaking scene around him and whispered to his team mate;

"I will go see what it is," Lee's voice was soft enough to only reach Neji's ears, "Cover for me if anyone noticed I have left…do not disrupt the wedding unless absolutely necessary." Neji nodded and once everyone was focused on the beginning of the wedding ceremony he leaped off into the forest.

Once out of view, Lee stumbled to a tree and put his heads in his arms. He always knew Sakura didn't like him…but he never wanted to accept it until now.

_Naruto will make her happy…_ he thought, taking his head from the tree and looking at his feet, _He is the best person for her…much better him than that Sasuke…_ Lee shook his thoughts away…he had almost completely forgotten why he came out here in the first place.

Mildly distracted by his thoughts, Lee silently creeped towards where he had heard the noise. It was all silent…maybe he had been hearing things? He had been a bit stressed all day…but no, Neji noticed it too. Lee had taken off the uncomfortable tuxedo and was now in his normal, jumpsuit attire. (Yes, he DID wear it under the tuxedo)

Lee stopped, he was sure he heard something this time. He looked around and in the distance of the woods saw blurred movement. He leapt into the trees and jumped ninja-like until he could see the scene clearly.

"So, boss, did you find anything good on her?" sneered a malicious ninja wearing all black, loose robed and a blue netted mask over his face. Another ninja of greater height with the same general persona about him shook his head.

"She's got nothing… I guess we'll have to dispose of her then, won't we?" he said, his voice slow and drawing like a snake.

Between the two men was a young woman, tied by her wrists to an above branch. The girl was wearing a tight purple shirt and matching pants, over which was a canary-yellow skirt, hanging to her knees. Her hands had fingerless purple gloves and her yellow boots matched the skirt. Over her shirt, around the waist, was several layers of bandages similar to Lee's.

What Lee noticed first, though, was the fact that her ninja-headband was tied across her eyes.

_What kind of ninja would blindfold someone with their own headband…_ thought Lee, before he even knew what he was going to do he found himself jumping from the tree and landing in front of the three shinobi.

"I do advise that you step away from this young lady at once." Lee's mouth seemed to form the words for him. In his classic fighting stance he stared at the two men, who began to snicker.

"What's with this freak? Hey, eyebrows, get out of here before you trip over a snail and hurt yourself." said the shorter of the ninja. Lee continued to stare the two down and the larger man walked over to him.

"Did you not hear him? Get lost, punk." he said, putting a hand on Lee's shoulder. Soon as his hand made contact with the green spandex of Lee's jumpsuit there was a streak of yellow.

Lee had jumped back and up within a matter of second and kicked the ninja up through the jaw. He spun toward the other ninja who was approaching and punched him in the neck, then kicked him in the stomach.

The two ninja began retreating limply.

"Now, now bushy-brow. We didn't mean any harm, we'll….we'll just be on our way now…" the man was bleeding at the mouth while speaking. At this statement the two turned and ran back into the depths of the forest.

After Lee made sure no one else was around he figured those two ninja were just a couple of idiots bullying an innocent girl.

He turned to the limp body, now that he was closer he could see her more carefully. She seemed to be unconscious, yes he was sure of it. He untied her carefully and held her in his arms. She was lightweight…he could carry her back to the village.

To his relief, by the time he returned to the wedding the ceremony was over and they were merrily having cake in the reception area.

Neji caught sight of Lee as he came out of the trees and casually walked over.

"So? What happened….who is this?" he said, looking down at the girl.

"I took care of it…some ninjas had this girl hostage… I got rid of them, they were just random trouble-makers… I need to take care of this girl though, I do not know if she is wounded…." he said. Neji nodded and looked around.

"Go speak with Gai-sensei or Kakashi…maybe he'll let her stay with us." Neji gestured to their sensei over by the drink table, speaking with his rival.

To enhance training opportunity, Gai's team had been staying together in a large house. Since Naruto and Sakura would be living together now, Sasuke was now also living with them. Just next door the other teams had done the same thing. In one house was Shika, Ino and Choji, in another was Hinata, Kiba and Shino, both teams with their sensei.

"Kakashi! My rival! So you have beaten me in yet another challenge!" Gai was yelling, being overly dramatic. Kakashi looked over;

"What now?"

"So what if your team mates were the first to wed, I will find someone for mine soon and they will be a thousand times happier than yours, Kakashi! Possibly I can hook up Neji and Tenten… yes, yes, that will do…of course Lee doesn't exactly have a chance with-- wha-- OH LEE! HELLO THERE MY STUDENT!"

Lee looked up at his sensei, whether he didn't hear that comment or chose to ignore it, Gai wasn't sure.

"Sensei.."

"Lee! Who is this? Neji told me you went to check something out in the forest but he never mentioned you were bringing back a lady!" he said. Lee sweat dropped.

"Sensei, I was wondering if I could--"

"Whatever did you do to her, Lee? She seems out cold! Why I remember when I brought back my first damsel in distress from the woods, I beat Kakashi when I--"

"SENSEI!"

"Hm? What is it Lee?" Gai looked up from his rambling.

"I was wondering…if I could let this girl stay in our house for a while…just until she heals enough to go home." Lee said, Gai looked down at him with what was almost an impressed look on his face.

"Well then…that would be fine. Where should she stay though? We're full on beds with Sasuke there…"

"She can have my room, I will sleep on the floor in Neji's room or something….it is not like she will be here too long anyway. I will figure something out…" he said. Gai nodded and Lee turned and carried the girl gingerly towards their house.

"Heheheh. See that, Kakashi! Maybe Lee WILL find a lucky girl to marry…I challenge you that I can get Lee married off before you can get Sasuke! I CHALLENGE YOU, MY RIVAL!"

"Hm? What? I wasn't listening." Kakashi said, looking up from his trademark orange book. Gai anime fell.

"AGGGHH!! KAKASHI! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO COOL!!!!"

Lee walked into their five bedroom house with the woman in hand, he walked past the main hall which lead to the kitchen and living room. He walked past the bathroom and Gai's bedroom and up the stairs. He passed Neji's bedroom and Tenten's room down to the end of the hallway where Lee's room was across the hall from what used to be the spare bedroom, and now occupied Sasuke.

Lee walked in and set the girl on his bed, moving the pillow to make her comfortable. He walked to the window and opened the shade. The room was filled with light and Lee finally got a better look of the person he rescued.

She had fair skin that was dotted with freckles…especially around the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. Her hair was about chin length and a bright orange…she seemed about… a little below average height. Not quite as short as Gaara was, but not exactly tall.

"Oh…" Lee remembered for the first time since he found the girl about her headband. "I should untie…" he started to himself, reaching his hand out to untie the ninja band being used as a blindfold.

Before his hands even touched the cloth another hand shot up and grabbed Lee's wrist. The girl's fingers, thin and feeble as they looked, had a strong, breaking grip on Lee's arm.

"Don't…touch it…" a struggling voice said. The words from her mouth seemed forced…as if she was in great pain.

Lee looked down at the girl.

"I…thought you…sorry." he said. "Tell me…what is your name?"

"Ah….Akemi." she said, before her arm went limp again. She had fallen back asleep.

"Akemi…" Lee repeated. "You must be completely out of chakra…what did they do to you?" he said. It was then he noticed a wet spot on her shirt…she was bleeding.

"Uh oh…" Lee said, "I…have to bandage that…" he said. He sighed, "Calm down Lee, you're mature… you can do this. It's for medical purposes…I'm not a pervert or anything…" he said as he got out the bandages from a shelf in the corner of the room.

------

_Ugh… _A noise awoke Lee, he sat up and looked around. He had fallen asleep on the floor beside his own bed. _Why am I…oh right. _he remembered…the girl…the bandages…he hadn't figured out where to sleep yet, so he had dozed off on his own bedroom floor. He looked over at his guest, seeing that she was awake and sitting up.

Somehow…with the blindfold on, she was facing Lee.

_How did she know I woke up? _he thought. He had awoken just a few seconds ago…

"W-where am I?" she asked. Lee looked up from his thoughts.

"Oh…um you are at my house…well my team's." Lee said, caught off-guard by the question.

"And you would be…" Akemi questioned, seeming to be a bit impatient.

"Oh…Lee…Rock Lee…" he said.

"I see…Well I'm Akemi…Hotaru, that is." she said, her voice going a little more polite. "Why…how did I get here?" she asked.

"Well, I found you in the woods with a couple of ninja, you were unconscious and I could tell they were up to no good…so I cut in and shooed them away." he said. "I did not want to just leave you there…so I brought you here."

"Oh…whose bed is this?" she asked.

_She sure asks a lot of questions…_ Lee thought before responding.

"Eh, mine…we are sort of short on beds at the moment…so I gave up mine." he said.

"Oh…" Akemi said. It was quiet for a moment.

"Are you sure you do not want to take off that blindfold?" he said. Another moment of silence.

"But it--…it's not a blindfold…Well it is…but I…choose…to wear it." she said. "Well…I have to.." Lee looked at her.

"But does that not impair your vision?" Akemi shook her head.

"I…no. It doesn't." She said, "I'm blind…have been from birth." she said. Lee looked at her,

"Then why wear the blindfold if you cant see anyway?"

"…believe me…you don't want to look in my eyes…listen, is there somewhere I could wash up…I've been out in that forest for three days without bathing…I smell horrid." she said. Lee took her to the house bathroom and gave her a towel. She closed the door just as the front door opened and the formally dressed Gai, Sasuke and Neji walked in.

"What…who's in the shower?" Sasuke asked. "I thought Tenten was at the after party for the wedding still…" he said, looking at the bathroom door.

"That is Akemi." The three of them stared at Lee blankly.. "Oh, the girl I brought back from the forest.." this time only Sasuke stared blankly, the other two understanding.

Lee recounted to them how he went out to the forest and found her, when he brought her back, then the conversation they had just a minute ago.

"Blind you say? Hm…interesting." Gai said.

"Why would she keep something over her eyes if she cant see…" Sasuke said. "It makes no sense…"

"Unless…" Neji spoke up, Sasuke and Lee looked over at him. Gai looked at the wall, still thinking. "Unless she has a hereditary nin-jutsu…one that works through the eye. Such as my byakugan or Sasuke's sharingan."

The group thought for a moment…the silence wasn't broken until the door of the bathroom opened and Akemi walked out


	2. Chapter Two

-1Dressed in her original clothes with a towel wrapped around her hair, Akemi Hotaru emerged from the steaming shower room. She stopped.

"Lee? Who else is here…" she said. "I can hear two…three others." she said. Sasuke stared with wide eyes.

_How did she hear us?! We didn't even move… _ he thought. He was a bit suspicious about this girl…she seemed odd…but he wasn't going to say anything; not yet.

Neji seemed a bit taken aback by this too, but he didn't say anything. Gai was the first to speak up.

"Yes…hello. I am Gai, Lee's sensei." he shook her hand. "This is Neji, my other student," he touched Neji's shoulder and he moved forward, also shaking Akemi's hand. "And Sasuke, who is staying with us since his teammates can't accommodate for him anymore…" he said.

"I see…nice to meet you." she said, shaking Sasuke's hand. "You don't have to be suspicious, Sasuke. I don't mean to harm anyone…especially with you taking me in so kindly." Sasuke's eyes dilated.

"H-how did you--" Sasuke stepped back. Akemi's head tilted to the side and Sasuke could tell she wasn't going to answer his unfinished question.

"We have one more too," continued Gai, "But she is still at the wedding." 

"Wedding? Oh, are your teammates getting married; Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded, through better of it then responded with a 'yes'.

Lee had stayed silent this whole time…he hadn't found must interest in the conversation until now…a twinge pain went through his heart…just as if he had heard the wedding bells again.

Almost as if this pang in his chest was a cue, Akemi turned to him. She had a strange look on her face for a second before she said;

"Lee, are you alright? You….you're quiet." she said. Lee looked up suddenly, forgetting where he was for a moment.

"What? Oh…no I'm fine." he said, replacing his feelings of regret and jealousy with curiosity.

"So…Akemi…what were you doing out in the forest all by yourself?"

"Oh…well…I'm not exactly at liberty to enclose that information with you…" she said, with a rather unsure look on her face;

"Oh I understand, now Lee you shouldn't pester ninja about their missions. They're often confidential." Gai said, Lee nodded.

"Well can you tell us how you managed to get unconscious?" asked Sasuke, looking at her intently. She nodded.

"You see…I was out on my mission and got a little tired…so I stopped in the forest to take a break. When I touched down though I could tell I wasn't alone. Two ninjas showed up and tried to get my money off of me, so I tried to fight them away. I fended them off for about…two hours? I don't know…finally they were about to give up when I ran out of chakra…and fell over."

"Wow…how bad of a ninja do you have to be to steal from an unconscious girl you didn't even knock out!" said Neji, shaking his head. Sasuke looked at her even more than before.

_Two hours? What kind of stamina does this girl have…something is up with her story…there has to be._

Gai looked at the clock then back at his team.

"Well for now, I say that Akemi here should be a temporary member of our team. At least until she feels she should go back…if it's fine with Lee, you can continue to sleep in his room." Lee agreed. "Tomorrow we're going to get up early for training…you can come if you'd like, or it may be better for you to get your rest. Whichever you'd prefer." said Gai. Akemi nodded.

"Thank you so much…Really. I'm sorry to be such a bother to you all…you're such nice people. Especially you, Lee. I can't thank you enough for saving me." she said holding out her hand to Lee.

"I-It is no bother at all! I mean you are no bother…I mean…you are welcome." Lee was flustered, shaking her hand. His face flushed a bit as Neji snickered.

The group said their goodnights and Lee lead Akemi back to his room. As Neji and Sasuke's doors closed Akemi turned to Lee again.

"Well…goodnight," she said, fiddling with her hands.

"Goodnight…um…if you need anything I will be…across the hall on Neji's floor." he said. Akemi nodded. Lee turned and walked to the door, hesitating at the frame and looking back at the girl, silently.

He knew there was something strange about her…Sasuke and Neji had noticed it too…something very strange…but not…evil. Whatever it was he could sense about her wasn't foreboding…it was almost…sad…yet happy…yet angry… Something about her made him feel a rush of emotions he had never felt before, at least not all at once… He had noticed this sensation when he brought her back from the forest…when he bandaged her wound…and again when he shook her hand…

This feeling…Lee didn't know if it scared him…or fascinated him…or both, even. All he knew was he had to learn more about it.

But for now he was going to sleep…he DID have to get up early in the morning.

--------------------------------------

A flock of birds scattered and flew from a nearby tree as a shout sounded from a nearby house.

These shouts had become almost daily now, the people and neighbors nearby were used to it. Of course, most of them were used to Naruto in general…but now Sakura was there too.

"NARUTO!!!" her shrill voice echoed from every corner of the house. "WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL OF THE FOOD IN THE KITCHEN!?!" A flustered Sakura was searching manically through cabinets and drawers.

"What food?" her husband responded, looking over at her. "You mean the stuff in the cabinet? I thought it was all left over from the wedding…so I gave it to Choji."

"Y-YOU…WHAT?! CHOJI!?! Oh my god…It's probably all gone already…." Sakura sat down in a chair, limply. She put a hand to her head…

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto said, obliviously.

"That….was our food….for the next two weeks!" she said. Naruto frowned.

"Seriously? All that was in there was like…fruit and…vegetables…and some herbal crap." 

"Yes, Naruto. Not all of us eat ramen for every meal!" Sakura snapped. "So, genius, tell me, what are we going to do for breakfast?"

"Ummm…" Naruto thought for almost a minute. go out for ramen?" Sakura fell over.

"NAARUTOO!!" 

Kiba looked up from his cereal bowl.

"Ah they're at it again…we're never going to get any peace with the couple-of-the-week next to us." he said, looking out the window at his neighbors. Hinata made a small, feeble noise which attracted both Kiba and Shino's attention.

"Hinata…?" Shino looked down at her. Hinata shook her head.

"I'm okay." She said, looking back up. She looked over at Shino. "Thanks you pass me the milk?" she asked. Shino nodded and passed a carton over to her. Going back to his cereal, Kiba was lost in his own thoughts.

_Hinata seems upset about Naruto… _Kiba thought to himself, _Well, I can't really blame her, can I… she did like him an awful lot._

Kiba looked over at his female teammate. She was looking down into her bowl as she poured the milk. He looked back at his own cereal.

_Maybe I should cheer her up…no…she'll be okay…besides…_

Getting up and taking his bowl and cup to the sink, he looked once more at Hinata and Shino. Hinata hadn't stopped pouring her milk…it was now overflowing from the top. Shino noticed this and calmly moved her hand so the milk ceased pouring. Hinata put the milk down and began to eat her cereal.

_Girls are weird…_


	3. Chapter Three

-1"1482, 1483, 1484, 1485..." Lee's counting went along mechanically with each kick to the stump. "…1486...1487... If I can not do 1500 kicks…1488... then I will do 500 pushups!! 1489..."

He was working harder than usual today… he had been lost in thought most of the morning, his mind seemed clouded. The sensation he had felt around their guest the previous day…it had been bugging him. It was difficult to describe, even to himself. An…almost electrical sensation, as if he were being shocked…but at the same time it was full of something less physical…like a rush of emotion. As if he needed to break down sobbing…but jump up laughing in joy, at the same time…

Nearby several kunai and shuriken flew towards Neji, who dodged each of them without blinking an eye. Tenten panted for breath, staring at her teammate.

This girl…Akemi…there was something strange about her. Neji knew it…and not the ordinary strange either, like Naruto or Lee, something…much different. There was something….something he could pick up with his byakugan, like...an aura…mainly around her eyes., then around her hands as well. The majority of it was around her chest, though, near her heart…and her chakra! Her chakra was…so powerful. It seemed to almost radiate and pour out of her body…

"Okay…try this one then!" she said, throwing a kunai at what seemed to be a perfect miss, Neji went to dodge but moved his arm jut enough to be grazed by the kunai.

"Agh.." Neji looked to Tenten and smiled. "Nice shot."

Tenten hadn't met the new girl yet…Lee had told her about her this morning ecstatically and she had walked into Lee's room to see her. Tenten laughed slightly…Lee is so strange sometimes. She could tell he was becoming fond of this new girl…every time Neji spoke of her, his eyes lit up and he joined the conversation excitedly…but he tried to hide it, hilariously.

"1495...1496...1497...almost there…1498...1499..." A drop of sweat went down Lee's face and it drew his attention to the door of the house.

Akemi hovered in the doorway, seeming unsure if she should move. She stepped off of the step but didn't realize there was another one and fell forward.

"You have to be more careful." Lee said, for in a flash of green he had bolted over and caught Akemi. "Next time you come out just call for me."

"Oh…thank you Lee. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." she said, standing up straight. Lee smiled,

"No, of course not." he said. "Nothing important, anyway. Just daily training…would you like to join us?"

"Oh, no I'm fine. I was actually just coming out to ask you where I could go to buy some clothing…I don't want to wear this much longer…it's filthy." she smiled weakly. Tenten looked up before Lee could respond.

"Clothes? Oh I can take you to the cutest store down the road!! I bet I can find the most adorable outfit for you! Come with me!" she said, taking her hand and leading the surprised Akemi down the road. "My name is Tenten by the way." their voices faded off as Lee watched them from the steps.

"Well…back to work." he said to himself, going back to where he was. He got on his hands and did one push up.

"1...2...if I can not do 200 pushups I will do 700 sit ups….3...4.…"

"Sakura why do you have to be so angry all the time?" Naruto said with a mouthful of ramen.

"Well, it MIGHT irritate me a bit that we're having ramen for breakfast…again." Sakura said, glaring at her bowl. The bell at the door rang as Shino, Kiba and Hinata came into the ramen shop. Naruto looked at Hinata who's face went immediately red and she looked at her shoes, trembling.

"H-hey, Hinata! What's wrong?" Naruto looked at her questionably, Hinata started to turn and walk out of the building but Kiba stopped her.

"Where ya going Hinata? Lets stay and chat for a while." Kiba said, cheerfully. Hinata made a low squeak but didn't protest. Shino looked at Kiba with a bit of a glare but didn't say anything either. Kiba sat down between Naruto and Sakura.

"So how's the married couple doing? Lots of kisses and hugs, right? Perfect relationship? No fighting?"

"Are you mocking us Kiba." Sakura sweat dropped.

"Of course not! All I'm saying is that the two of you seem like you're having a nice, romantic, loving relationshi--"

Hinata make a loud, yet muffled noise, her eyes squinted up and her face redder than normal. Shino looked up at Kiba with a dirty look on his face,

"What's your problem, Kiba?" he said, grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling her out of the shop. Hinata blinked but followed obediently.

"What…did I do?" Kiba said. Sakura shook his head as Naruto ordered another bowl of ramen.

Tenten and Akemi didn't return until evening, Lee was in his room playing with a kunai. Akemi knocked on the door and Lee looked up.

"L-Lee?" she said.

"Yeah, it is me." he said. Akemi smiled and walked in.

_You know…she is actually…really, really pretty.._ he thought, looking at her through the window light. Akemi turned her head towards him.

"After all you've done for me, you know I don't even know what you look like." she said. Lee blinked.

"But…you can't…" he said, Akemi chuckled.

"Not literally, but I can get a good idea by touching your face." she said, sitting next to him. She moved a bit closer and reached out her hand to his shoulder. Lee blushed a bit but shook it away, looking at her hand.

"…Spandex?" Akemi broke a silence. Lee sweat dropped.

"Eh…yes…" Akemi laughed. 

"You're so funny, Lee…." he hand moved up his neck to his face. Lee swallowed awkwardly. He fingers grazed the tip of his nose up to his eyes, then his forehead.

"I know I have thick eyebrows…" Lee said, softly. "You are probably going to make fun of me for them.."

"Oh I would never make fun of you…you're eyebrows are perfectly fine, Lee. Kind of cute." she said cheerfully, making Lee smile. Her hand moved down again to the side of his face, then grazed over his lips to his other side. She moved her hand up to his hair and ran her fingers through once.

"What color hair do you have, Lee?" she said. Lee looked up, not expecting a question and sort of distracting himself with his own thoughts.

"Black…" he said.

"Hehe…I wish I could see you with my eyes, Lee."

"What do you mean? You are much better looking than me…oh!" Lee covered his mouth…he hadn't meant to say that.

Akemi smiled but didn't say anything.

"Do...you want to go outside? It is warm in here…" Lee said. Akemi nodded and he led her outside carefully.

The breeze blew Lee's hair around his face as they sat down on the steps.

"So when do you think you'll go back to your teammates?" Lee said. Akemi frowned.

"Well…I don't know…I was actually thinking about finding another home in this part of the village…and straying from my clan."

"Oh you are part of a clan? The Hotaru clan, I suppose?" he said. Akemi nodded. A silence went over them as the breeze quickened.

In one swift movement, the wind caught under Akemi's headband and it lifted, flying from her face. At first she didn't notice and her eyes opened, pointing at Lee's. In a split second she noticed what happened, her hands rushing to her head as her mouth opened in horror.

"LEE DON'T LO--" it was too late. Lee was flung back in pain with a yell. He was on the ground, holding his head and twitching rapidly.

In his mind...there were so many emotions…anger….sadness…bloodlust…hate…revenge…envy… all in a rush of sensation. This was different than the zaps he had felt earlier…there were no happy emotions in this. It was all pain…

Blood…tears…death….images of people running and being killed ran through his head. He grimaced, trying to flush out the thoughts…but they continued…

Fear…horrible fear…like he had never seen before. Flourishing like flowers in his mind was more and more misery as it grew like weeds through his brain.

What seemed like an hour of agonizing emotion went by in less than a minute. The pain finally subsides and Lee collapsed weakly to the ground. Tears poured from his eyes as he coughed up blood, the memory of that burning feeling in his head haunted him just by thinking of it. Guilt and confusion shot through his head as he looked up at Akemi, who's eyes were closed tight and were producing more tears than his.

"I…I didn't mean too! I'm so sorry…It hurt you…it's evil…I'm evil…I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…" she was saying, Lee didn't know what to do…or even what had happened….he couldn't get up…he was too weak…he reached over to the fallen headband next to him and reached it over to Akemi…he didn't know why but she needed it back.

Akemi felt his arm against her foot and took the headband, tying it over her eyes. After a minute or two Lee managed to sit up, wincing and holding his head..

"A-Akemi? W…what was that?" he said. Akemi looked down.

"I….I should tell you…about my clan." she said. Lee looked at her.

"Your…your clan?" he said. "So…what just happened…was a clan nin-jutsu?"

Akemi nodded timidly…

"Y-yes…in a way….my…my clan…each woman born into the clan is…cursed…with the Hirakugan. This jutsu…it blinds the women from birth…blinds them from their conventional eyesight, that is. But it allows us to see through peoples minds…we can see…peoples emotions…people wishes….peoples fears…"

"So…you can read minds?" he said, looking at her shaking hands. He reached out, hesitated, then took one of her hands. She flinched at first, not expecting it, but relaxed…

"No…I can't, for example, know exactly what you are thinking right now…but if I 'look' I can tell how you're feeling…or what you fear…and so on." she said. Lee thought about this.

"I…see." he said. "So what just happened…a second ago."

"Well…the reason the women in my clan wear blindfolds…is because each of the times we see into someone's mind…their emotions are saved into our chakra…so they have to be stored somewhere. All of the subtle emotions…such as the happy ones, or the slightly sad ones…are stored in the chakra in our hands. All of the bad ones, though, such as fear…anger…everything you just felt…."

"Are stored in your eyes…" Lee finished for her. She nodded. "I understand now…"

"I….am so sorry…I hurt you…I'm horrible…evil…" she said, beginning to cry again.

"No…no, you are not. It was not your fault, none of it is your fault. You did not choose to be born with this." he said. "You are not evil."

"L-Lee…" she said. Lee smiled, weakly. "I…I have something I need to tell you.." Lee looked at her.

"Yes?"

"I…wasn't in the forest on a mission…like I said… I was running away…from my village, my clan." she said. "They…don't like me there…I have the Hirakugan stronger than the majority of my clan…they fear me….they say I'm a….a monster."

"You…are not a monster." he said. "And you may stay here as long as you need, no matter what Gai-sensei says I will make him let you stay." Akemi smiled as a tear went down her cheek. Lee looked down at her and hesitated for just a moment…then embraced her, friendlily.

Gai watched from his bedroom window, with a smile on his face.

"Hirakugan, eh? Well…this will be an interesting show… keep it up Lee!" he said to himself, eating a bowl of instant ramen.


End file.
